Planet Mars Site

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The Planet Trek Mars site has a number of possible locations, including the grounds of the Paseo Colorado shopping center, or along Green Street, or on or near Colorado Boulevard (the illustration at right, however, shows a previously planned location in Central Park).

The Imaginative Sculpture, much larger than the scale planet, is designed to capture attention from afar, and convey some aspects of the planet Mars. It consists of a 24-inch diameter sphere of cast iron. The rudy surface texture is engraved to look like Mars's actual surface, based on the planet as currently photographed and mapped.

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The appearance is intended to be reflective of Mars's highly studied surface and its red coloration.

The base of the Imaginative Sculpture is a "Desert Red" boulder. Approximate height with sphere is 4 feet 6 inches. The iron sphere is fixed to its boulder base, and the base is attached to a concrete footing at the ground.

The Planet Scale Model is part of a unique planet orbital disk depicting the equatorial plane and the scale model planet on the angle of its polar axis. The base supporting the Planet Scale Model is a pre-cast, uniquely finished concrete pedestal, with informational insets and a title plaque in stainless steel, copper or brass, with etched enamel infill.

Both the Planet Scale Model and the Imaginative Sculpture are on concrete footings connected by a concrete arc with brass inset directional arrows and planet name. Ten "Great Question" plaques surround this site, as all the other sites, set at ground level.

The detail at right illustrates how the scale planet model appears on a metal surface angled to represent the planet's equatorial tilt, which for Mars is about 25 degrees. The tiny Mars scale model is a hemisphere "bump" on the inclined metal plate, only about 0.175 inch in diameter. This, of course, is Mars' scale size in comparison to the 3-foot diameter Sun, which is 491 feet away. The model and its inclined plate sit atop a concrete pedestal with information and name plaques. Also present on the pedestal is a unique souvenir rub-transfer icon which may be used in school projects and promotional activities to provide evidence of visit.

Click here to see the artists' conception of a typical planet sculpture site, complete with scale model, imaginative sculpture, and the connecting walkway with its ten "Great Question" plaques.